b. Positive Impoliteness
The use of positive impoliteness strategy is to cause harm to the addressee’s positive face Culpeper, 2005: 41. By using this strategy, the speaker attacks the
addressee’s will or need to be accepted by others. Moreover, there are some output strategies which can be used in performing positive politeness strategy.
Those output strategies are ignoring the other, excluding the other from an activity, being disinterested, unconcerned, and unsympathetic, using inappropriate
identity markers, using obscure or secretive language, seeking disagreement, using taboo words, and calling other names.
The first example of positive impoliteness strategy is a conversation between Molly and Sherlock at their work. Sherlock has just finished his job when Molly
approaches him and asks him to have coffee with her. Molly
: I was wondering if you’d like to have coffee.
Sherlock :
Black, two sugars, please. I’ll be upstairs.
Molly : ..... Okay.
04-1PICRAC
Sherlock performs positive impoliteness strategy as he fails to acknowledge Molly’s real intention. He damages Molly’s positive face want, which is to be
noticed and accepted by him. Instead of being aware that Molly’s real intention is to ask him out, he asks Molly to bring him a cup of black coffee with two sugars.
He also implicitly orders Molly to bring the coffee to his office upstairs, which makes Molly look like his servant.
The next example of positive impoliteness strategy is performed by Detective Inspector Dimmock toward Sherlock. Their first encounter happens at a
crime scene where a banker is found dead by Sherlock. Sherlock
: Ah, sergeant. We haven’t met.
Dimmock : Yeah, I know who you are; and I prefer it if you didn’t tamper with any of the evidence.
Sherlock :
I’ve phoned Lestrade. Is he on his way? 45-2PICRDE
Positive impoliteness strategy is employed by Dimmock when he ignores Sherlock’s hospitality by saying “Yeah, I know who you are”. Furthermore,
Dimmock tries to exclude Sherlock from the investigation by saying “and I prefer
it if you didn’t tamper with any of the evidence.” He uses two kinds of positive impoliteness output strategies listed by Culpeper, i.e. ignoring the other and
excluding the other from an activity. In the last example of positive impoliteness strategy, Sherlock uses the
strategy to attack John’s face. They run out of time to solve a puzzle which makes John push Sherlock to solve the puzzle faster. He reminds Sherlock that a
woman’s life is at stake. John
: Try and remember there’s a woman here who might die.
Sherlock : What for? This hospital is full of people dying,
Doctor. Why don’t you go and cry by their beside and see what good it does them?
John : Silent
62-3PICRNR
When John pushes Sherlock to solve the puzzle faster, Sherlock gets annoyed and performs positive impoliteness strategy toward him. Sherlock uses one kind of the
positive impoliteness output strategies, using inappropriate identity marker. He
calls John by his doctor title instead of John’s name. In addition, Sherlock
employs unpalatable questions by asking “What for?” when John asks him to save the woman’s life, and “Why don’t you go and cry by their beside and see what
good it does them?” which shows that he is being unsympathetic about the woman’s condition and challenges John with his question.
c. Negative Impoliteness
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